Into the Fire

Brandilyn Collins highlights this week’s CFBA Tour with her latest release Deceit published by Zondervan. Brandilyn has since transferred her amazing abilities and “Seatbelt Suspense” to Broadman & Holman Publishers. All I can say is good choice for B&H.

Vintage Brandilyn in this new one. Deceit tells the story of Skip Tracer Joanne Weeks who is convinced that real estate mogul, community pillar, and elder in her church Baxter Jackson killed her best friend Linda, his first wife. Her body has never been found, but Joanne knows Baxter’s ugly secret. When his second wife dies in what is ruled an accident by taking a tumble down their stairs, Joanne is consumed with proving Baxter a murderer.

Her obsession is only heightened when she nearly runs over a masked man in a hooded sweatshirt on her isolated dark road in the middle of a horrendous rainstorm. When she exits her SUV to inspect the damage, he instructs her to find the Baxter’s foster daughter Melissa who disappeared six years ago at the age of 16 after Linda’s death.

Fired up and determined to put her exceptional skills to work, Joanne loads up on Jelly Bellies and flies to her computer to get started. The power goes out. It’s pitch dark, the rain assaults the house, the wind roars, and she hears the back garage door slam shut.

Absolute tension throbs throughout this story which takes place over just a few days, much of it without sleep for Joanne Weeks. The timeframe shifts from present tense to six years prior when the teenage Melissa encounters her new “family” placement at the grandiose mansion of Baxter and Linda Jackson after the ugly death of her alcoholic mother. Before too long, the young woman accidentally discovers trouble in paradise.

Joanne uses her skills to locate Melissa but encounters acute danger and total resistance from Melissa. The harrowing results of her efforts to pin Linda’s death on Baxter take unexpected turns and prove almost deadly for Joanne.

The multi-faceted title Deceit and the great cover of this book set the tone for this fast-paced story which won’t take you long to read. Written with intensity and a likable, determined protagonist with a serious addiction to Jelly Bellies, Deceit will make the fear factor palpable and the desire for justice amp up to match Joanne’s. The conclusion brings satisfaction on a couple of different levels. Well done, Mistress (or should it be Madam?) of Suspense, Brandilyn!

 http://http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0373442726

Father, I pray you would continue to provide the stories to match Brandilyn's talent with the inspiration, the stamina, the determination she needs to write these novels which always point to you according to the storyline, honor you, and bring you joy. You've given her multiple talents in the publishing arena, and I pray you would widen her audience to an even greater number in order for people to find you where perhaps they least expect to do so. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.